When cultures collide, emails get nasty
When it comes to doing global business, there are a couple views of how people from different cultures react to each other.
There's the Kumbaya vision we see in TV advertisements, where smiling people from different races and countries shake hands in a sun-filled meeting room or clean factory floor.
There's the realist vision accepting that there are some good foreign practices, some bad foreign practices, and some downright irritating foreign practices -- which anyone who has lived abroad or travels overseas frequently can relate.
Then there's the vision based on stereotypes. Things can get ugly when two people let their true thoughts about foreigners be known, especially in the physically removed environment of email. The parties in this particular example are Alan Lewis, a European money manager who sends his resume to Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager here in the United States. Read the whole exchange here on the Daily Dose of Optimism blog -- you'll either laugh at the sharp exchange, or cry at this example of human beings proving that it's really impossible for certain people from different cultures to get along.
First of all, thanks to everyone who commented on my last post about where to fine cheap airline Web fares. It was very useful information, and I tried a few of the services. However, none of them beat the prices advertised on Yahoo Travel/Travelocity, and ... Read
Earlier this month I wrote about a nasty email exchange involving Alan Lewis, a European money manager, and Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager here in the United States. Following in the same vein is an exchange between Business Week journalist Timothy Mullaney and Patrick ... Read
I thought it was hilarious. Wonder if it were a true exchange. Do Brits and europeans in general still cling to the "who you are in society" bit?
I lived in London in the early 1990s, and while there was certainly a strong class awareness based on accent, schooling, etc., a lot of the barriers seemed to be coming down or even reversed in some industries -- for instance, amongst certain financial occupations related to trading, a lot of people were "lads" from working class areas in eastern parts of London or the suburbs. I did not really get outside the city so it may be quite different elsewhere in England.
don't kid yourselves......."who are you in society bit" doesn't exist in US in any way, shape or form????.....i got a real taste of what the world thinks of Americans when i went on a round the world excursion with my buddies....trust me when i say the world does not think too highly of americans!
